It'll be great
by FemaleOfTheSpecies
Summary: ONESHOT. Elwood convinces a special someone that running away isn't the answer, and in the process he realises that things may have just become great for him, maybe. Elwood/OC. Contains slight fluff, but in a good way I think...


**A/n: Just a little something that came to me. I own nothing apart from Milly :)**

**It'll be great.**

Elwood Blues stood hidden in the shadows as he watched the girl silently as she stood with her back to him and observed the cars passing her on the road unaware of his presence. The side walks were deserted and she looked out of place in her red dress, standing beneath the yellow glow of the street lamp, all alone so late at night with her arms wrapped around her for warmth from the gentle misty rain that hung in the air, clinging to everything. The small purple suitcase at her feet was what worried him the most.

She was the perfect embodiment of the darker side of existence that he lived in, just like him rhythm and blues was in her blood – consumed her thoughts like sins and just like him her life was troubled because of it.

To the outsider she looked like a normal person but if the outsider were to take a closer look they would have noticed her eyes, dark grey eyes that held stories that they shouldn't for someone so young. It was one of the reasons he could barely look the girl in the eyes – it made him want to hold her close and tell her everything would be better for her and she never seemed to be comfortable when being touched and so he tried to avoid it, tried to...

Elwood had stumbled upon Milly completely by accident and he figured that most things in his life had been spontaneous accidents that led to either good or bad, depending on how he handled the situation. So, when he met Milly on that fateful night he had been careful with how he acted and what he said – she seemed like a nice enough girl and he didn't want to make a bad impression.

Their first encounter had been on a late November evening, the weather was bitterly cold and Elwood had ducked into a smoky bar for cover from the sudden burst of torrential rain that had just started to pelt onto the streets outside.

It was just the kind of bar he liked – air distorted from the second hand smoke of cigarettes smoked long ago, the smell of whisky and marchiano cherries hung in the air – strangely sweet and bitter at the same time. The lights were comfortably dimmed and the gentle chatter between the other bar patrons allowed a man to get lost in his thoughts without feeling uncomfortable, and that is exactly what Elwood chose to do whilst perched on a stool at the end of the bar with his back to the window that revealed the world outside.

He wasn't sure how many bottles of beer he had sipped his way through before her voice hit him causing him to look up for the source. He hadn't even noticed the small stage at the back of the room and he hadn't even noticed the little lady in a black dress singing her heart out to the crowd who weren't even paying attention to her.

He had been captured by her voice and had realised he was staring at her without caring about it, she had left the stage after two songs and he had looked back at his beer bottle, half full with the label hanging off where his fingers had played with it absent-mindedly.

He had left the bar shortly afterwards and as he strolled away he had been surprised to find the girl from the stage arguing with a police officer who was overseeing a battered red car being pulled onto the back of a tow-truck.

"I don't care if it's your car, you were parked illegally lady, and now your car belongs to the state" the officer had spoken loudly as he handed her a piece of paper before briskly walking away.

The girl had stood silently as she watched her car being taken away on the back of a tow-truck. She had looked a sorry state, pretty face wrinkled with anger and stained with furious tears. The black dress she had been wearing looked silly and out of place on the street and when Elwood had approached her she had eyed him suspiciously, especially when he offered her a lift home – she took it though and that was how he had met Milly.

On the ride to her home they had been silent, Elwood had glanced across at the girl a few times before he dared to speak. He had noticed how her red hair had glitter in it, nested on the curls and her painted red lips were frowning slightly.

"You uh... ya sang real good" he had told her breaking the silence and turning the frown into a curious smile and the rest, as they say, was history.

* * *

"Hello old man" Her voice pulled him from his thoughts and he glanced at the pavement when he realised he had been staring at her unintentionally.

"Hmm?" he asked sleepily, wondering why the noise has escaped his lips when he had heard her perfectly.

"I said hello." she repeated with her head to one side, a frown pulling at her glossy lips slightly.

He looked at her for a few seconds, marvelling at how her skin looked deathly white as the yellow light poured down on her.

"Hi" he said looking over her shoulder as a lone car passed by.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, her eyes boring into where she thought his eyes were behind his glasses.

"Not long" he replied, "Just long enough to wonder how long you've been standing there"

He stepped towards her, looking down at her fragile face. She had been crying again – he could tell because of the mascara tracks that clung to her cheeks.

"Not long" she replied, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"what's with the case Mills?" he asked her as he glanced down at the case placed on the floor near her feet , "You're not leaving us are you?" he said looking back up at her face in time for her to look away.

"He kicked me out" she whispered, he noticed how her bottom lip was quivering slightly but he ignored it and was thankful when she took a deep breath and pulled herself together.

He knew about her problems with her father, had even witnessed the mans brutality for himself and he couldn't help but feel glad that Milly didn't have to return to that monster again. Nobody should suffer at the hands of their parents and it tore Elwood apart for reasons he couldn't comprehend.

"For singing?" Elwood asked, the girl nodded and Elwood sighed,

"So you're leaving? You know one of us would have helped ya find a place to stay. You can't leave, you were going to sing with us at..."

"Look, Elwood – I can leave, and I am leaving. I'm leaving all of this behind me, everything that ever caused me grief and pain. I'm starting new and its gonna be great" she said, smiling and trying to convince herself. He could tell by the way she nodded in agreement with herself.

There was silence between them, Elwood couldn't find the words to tell her that she should stay – he had no reasons to offer her for why it was a better alternative for her to stay. He had ideas of why it would be good – for him, and he would like to have thought that his selfish ideas would have been good for her too but he wasn't overly sure.

The silence between them was broken by the chugging of a noisy engine and the squeak of brakes announcing the arrival of a taxi for which Milly had obviously been waiting. She turned and bent her knees slightly as she picked up the purple case that sat at her feet.

As she straightened up she turned to look at him with sad eyes that played a contrast to the smile playing at her lips.

"Nice knowing you Elwood" she whispered.

Milly turned, not waiting for a response and began her walk to the cab but before she could get more than three steps on her way a hand grabbed hold of her wrist, halting her in her journey.

"What you have now can be great Milly, you just gotta cut out the crap bits" Elwood spoke softly causing Milly to turn back and look at him.

She frowned at him but didn't pull away, even when his thumb began drawing patterns on the soft skin of her wrist.

"what do you mean?" she questioned his statement and he smiled slightly.

"What I mean is... don't go?" he pleaded, "there are some people who might need you around" he told her, his heart sped up as his statement caused an amused smirk to appear on her face.

"really? Like who?" she asked, taking a small step closer to him.

"Like me" he replied, tipping his head forwards slightly and biting his lip.

"Elwood?" she took another step closer and he let the smile fall from his face.

"Seriously, I mean where else can I find a singer at such short notice?" he questioned as he turned his body away from her and let her hand drop, "you'd really be leaving us in a mess. Still if you think it's for the best for you to leave then I guess you..."

He was cut off as he heard a car door slam shut and then the taxi drove away, he sighed and looked at the floor. Disbelief ran through him – he had just let Milly walk out of his life. A spontaneous accident that he had let go bad.

Suddenly, taking him by surprise, a hand landed softly on his arm and he turned to find Milly standing behind him.

"One last gig, then?" she asked causing Elwood to smile as she stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips softly against his.

It was the first time that _she_ had kissed _him. _The other times it had been him that had instigated the awkward, hungry kisses that they shared. He deepened the kiss and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her closer. With his free hand he gently pulled the suitcase from her hand. He felt her smile against him and he pulled away.

"I thought that maybe I should give things a chance to become great" she told him, her eyes scanning his face.

Elwood removed his arm from her waist and instead wove his fingers through her own, turning he began to lead her through the alleyway that led to where he had hurriedly parked the blues mobile in his hurried search for her.

"It'll happen Mills" he said, looking down at her as she walked by his side, "I promise" he said smiling as she looked up at him and he realised that maybe, just maybe, things had turned out great for him.


End file.
